Rumor: Spider-Man To Cross Over With The Avengers?

While I can't get the confirmations I need to verify the story, I'm hearing that there are some very cool "Spider-Man" plans being discussed that would help Sony refocus their enormously important franchise while also opening up some connections in the onscreen Marvel movie universe that would blow fandom's minds. Will it work out? I don't know. I would love to be able to state for sure that it's happening. What seems clear from what I've heard is that Marvel wants to be able to play with all of their characters, and if they can make that work creatively and on a corporate level, they will, and that means the world gets bigger again.

Spider-Man coming into the Marvel Cinematic Universe? That's a big deal. But get this: it's the THIRD DIFFERENT Spider-Man plan I've heard in the last week. Other things I've heard from insiders:

- Sony is going to soft reboot Spider-Man with The Sinister Six, having a new actor playing a Spidey who works with the villains The Dirty Dozen style to take down a larger threat.

- Sony is going to put Spider-Man on the shelf for four or five years and see if they can develop any of the side characters into their own franchises.

I've also heard that Venom is functionally dead again.

These are three wildly divergent stories, and I'm not sure if any of them are true or if all of them are true. I actually lean towards 'all of them' because that fits into the larger narrative of 'Sony has no clue what to do next.' I think that plans for Spider-Man change as the wind blows in Culver City, and that Marvel Studios could be taking advantage of this fact - as well as the fact that Sony is not doing so great in the movie business these days.

How did it get this far? It's crazy to imagine that the spectre of a new Spider-Man movie makes us unhappy. I remember frothing at the mouth for a quality Spidey film, and now all I want is for Peter Parker to quietly slink off someplace for a few years and leave us be.

If Marvel does work out a deal to reclaim Spider-Man I hope Andrew Garfield comes along; I like the actor in the role, even if I don't like the way the role is written. It will be interesting to see how Marvel Studios brings Spidey in - will they simply accept the reboot movies as canon, or will they reintroduce Spider-Man for the third time in 20 years?

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While some may say he is the greatest critical mind of his time, Devin Faraci humbly insists he is only the voice of a generation. He has been writing about movies online since there was a 21st century.